Roofing knife having a reversible and retractable blade



Sept. l, 1953 J. F. soLTow ETAL ROOFNG KNIFE HAVING A REVERSIBLE AND RETRACTABLE BLADE Filed `June '22, 1951 Patented Sept. l, 1953 ROOFING KNIFE HAVING A REVERSIBLE AND RETRACTABLE BLADE John F. Soltow, North Royalton, and Anthony W. Kozie, Brooklyn Village, Ohio Application June 22, 1951, Serial No. 233,086

1 Claim. 1

This invention relates to improvements in roofing knives and more particularly to a roofing knife with a reversible and swingable blade.

One of the objects of the present invention is to provide an improved knife for cutting linoleum, roofing material, or the like.

Another object of the present invention is to provide in a roofing knife of the type described means to swingably mount a blade, said means adapted to limit the blade swing in either direclon.

Another object of the present invention is to provide in a roofing knife of the type described means for swingably and reversibly mounting the blade to provide a multiplicity of cutting edges.

A further object of the invention is to provide a knife of the character described which is adapted for immediate reversibility of the blade whereby to render either one of two cutting edges immediately available at the will of the operator.

Another object of the present invention is to provide in a roofing knife of the type described means for swingably and reversibly mounting the blade to provide for adjustment of a multiplicity of cutting edges and to permit the user to retract the blade to a safe position for carrying.

Other features of this invention reside in the arrangement and design of the parts for carrying out their appropriate functions.

Other objects and advantages of4 this invention will be apparent from the accompanying drawing and description and the essential features will be set forth in the appended claim.

In the drawings,

Fig. 1 is a side view of the cutting knife with the cutting blade shown in two positions, as disclosed by the blade in solid line and dot-dash line;

Fig. 2 is a side view of the blade and the attaching means therefor, said view taken from the rear of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view along line 3 3 of Fig. l;

Fig. 4 is a vertical sectional view taken along line 4-4 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 is an enlarged View of the blade;

Fig. 6 is an enlarged view of the blade clamping plate;

Fig. 7 is a perspective view of the plate of Fig. 6; while Fig. 8 is a side view, similar to Fig. 1, but showing the blade in its retracted or safe position.

The knife herein illustrated as one embodiment of my invention is especially designed to cut linoleum, roofing material, or the like. Its swingably and reversibly mounted blade has several cutting edges, each cutting edge being :available without requiring a major adjustment.

In general, the roofing knife consists of a handle I I having a supporting plate I2 attached at one end thereof. A blade I4 is attached at the other end of the supporting plate I2 by a blade gripping or attaching means indicated generally at I3.

The blade gripping or attaching means I3 will now be described. The supporting plate I2 has a longitudinal, elongated slot I5 therein. An elongated, oval shaped, blade clamping plate I8 lies over this slot, as seen in Fig. 1. This plate I8 u has holes at each end adapted to threadably receive studs I6 and Il therein. Each of these studs has an enlarged head engaging the left side of the supporting plate I2 in Figs. 3 and 4. Each stud is loosely and slidably mounted in slot I5 and is threadably attached in plate I8. Stud I6 also has blade I 4 loosely mounted thereon. The stud I6 is located in the central hole I4' of the blade. Although the studs IB and Il may be tightened to clamp or lock the supporting plate I2, the clamping plate I8 and the blade I4 together, the studs are generally in a slightly loosened position while the knife is being used, so as to permit the blade I4 to be easily swung to cutting position. An inclined raised bead Ia, as -seen in Fig. 7, is adapted to limit the blade swing in either direction. This bead is of a width substantially equal to the width of slot I5, as shown in Fig. 4, and is adapted to slide in said slot longitudinally along the length of the slot. This bead or inclined cam surface Ilia is inclined f upwardly from adjacent the hole having the blade supporting stud I6 toward the hole having the stud I'I, the surface of bead I8a. being higher around stud II than around stud I5 and extending into the slot I5.

The blade I4, as seen in Fig. 5, has a six-sided or irregular hexagonal shape. It might also be described as diamond-like in shape since the basic shape resembles a diamond with cut-off ends. The blade is swingably retained between the blade supporting plate I2 and the blade clamping plate IB of the rooiing knife. In Fig. 2, it can be seen that half the length of the blade is less than the distance between the studs I6 and I'I. Hence, thebead I8a is the only restraining `surface between the studs to limit the blade swing. The blade I4, as seen in Fig. 5, has four cutting edges I4a, Mb, I4c and I4d.

The operation and adjustment of this roong knife is easy to understand. In Fig. 1, the blade is shown in the advanced or cutting position. If

both studs I6 and I1 are loosened slightly, the blade I4 may be swung through a limited are to assume either the full-line position or the dotdash line position in Fig. 1 when raised bead I8@ is in slot I5 blocking clockwise swing of the blade from the full-line position. The blade is moved from the full-line position to the dot-dash line position by swinging it counterclockwise in Fig. 1 while bead |80; stops swing at either end of said limited arc. In the full line position, cutting edge I4@ would be used, while in the dot-dash line position with the roofing knife inverted from the position shown in Fig. 1 cutting edge Ib would be used. Since the user pulls the cutting edge across the material to be cut, the cutting force tends to pivot blade I4 around the pivot point at stud I6 until the raised bead Ida pre vents further pivoting by forcing the cutting blade I4 firmly against the supporting plate I2. Hence, the blade I4 would then be firmly held in cutting position by raised bead lila. This same holding action can be used for either blade position in Fig. l. The user of the roofing knife mayV use either edge Ilia or edge I-flb by merely rocking the blade to either the solid line or dotdash line position in Fig. l. The blade may be swung or rocked from one position to the other by engaging the back side of the blade against a surface and then pivoting the blade to the other desired position. The other two cutting edges 9.

I4c and I4d may also be used. When this is desired, the blade I4 is merely removed from between the plates I2 and I8, turned over, and then reassembled between plates I2 and It. Cutting edges I4c and I4d will then assume the same positions as cutting edges Ila and leb in Fig. l. Cutting edges I4c and I4d may also be positioned by another method. If studs I6 and Il are loosened considerably and if'raised bead 13a is then withdrawn from the slot so that the clearance between bead ISa and plate I2 is greater than the thickness of the blade, the blade can be swung clockwise in Fig. 1 past the raised bead until cutting edge I4c is in the same position as edge I4a in Fig. 1. After studs I6 and I'I are tightened somewhat to force the raised bead iSd back into slot I5, the blade may be swung between the full-line and dot-dash line positions to use either cutting edge I4c or IM. Hence, the blade I4 in Fig. 5 provides a multiplicity of cutting edges by merely swinging or reversing it in its mounting.

This invention contemplates, of course, that blade I4 might have a diamond shape, a triangular shape or any other desired shape so that it may serve effectively as a cutting blade for sheet material such as linoleum or roofing material. The invention also contemplates that all six edges or sides of the hexagonal blade be sharpened to serve as cutting edges, if desired.

The blade I4 may also be moved to its safety or retracted position shown in Fig. 8, in which position the cutting knife may be safely carried with the blade inoperative to cut. The blade I4 and plate I8 are slidably mounted on the supporting plate I2 by studs I6 and l'! so that they may readily assume the cutting position of Fig. 1 or the safety position of Fig. 8. Studs I6 and ll' and raised bead Iia slidably engage slot I5 to permit this movement. Hence, raised bead I8a serves a dual function. It slidably guides the plate I8, and the blade I4 carried thereby, on the supporting plate I2 and also limits the swing of blade I4 in either direction when the blade is in the cutting position shown in Fig. 1.

The novel knife of this invention has many advantages. 1t is especially convenient for cutting linoleum and roofing material. The sev eral cutting edges of the blade are readily available without making a major adjustment so that a sharp cutting edge can always be selected. Any of the four sharp edges of the blade may be moved into cutting position normally in eight seconds or less. The blade can be set to the proper cutting angle and depth of cut to satisfy any cutting requirement by merely setting the blade and then locking it into position by clamping the raised Lio bead against it. The raised bead clamps against the blade without dulling the blades cutting edges. The clamping or tightening screws or studs each have a wide enough adjustment slot to accommodate a coin. Hence, the studs maybe adjusted -by either a small coin or a screw driver, whichever is desired. The blade of the knife can also be retracted into a safety position so that it may be safely carried in the users trouser pocket. A doubled edge-:l razor blade may be used instead of the blade I t shown in the drawings, if desired. This invention comprises a knife having all of the above features and advantages therein.

What we claim is:

fr roofing knife comprising a handle, a blade supporting plate attached to one end of said handle, said plate having a longitudinal slot therein, a substantially diamond-shaped blade having four cutting edges, said blade having a hole through its center, and an elongated blade clamping plate having holes at each end thereof, a stud loosely mounted in said slot and said blade center hole but removably engaged in the outer hole of said clamping plate for clamping together said clamping plate and supporting plate, a second stud loosely mounted in said slot but removably engaged in the other hole of said clamping plate for clamping together said clamping plate and supporting plate, said blade being swingably retained on said rst stud between said blade supporting plate and said blade clamping plate, the distance between said studs being greater than one-half the length of the blade, and a raised bead on said clamping plate inclined upwardly between said first and second stud, said raised bead slidably engaging said slot whereby said bead limits the blade swing in either direction by wedging said blade against said supporting plate when said blade is in its advanced'or cutting position and whereby said bead and studs slidably engage said slot so that said blade is slidably retractable to render it inoperative to cut.

JOHN F. SOLTOW. ANTHONY W. KOZlE.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 899,539 Johnson et al Sept. 29, 1908 1,719,217 Freiss July 2, 1929 1,829,499 Boos Oct. 2'?, 1931 1,860,454 Dessell May 31, 1932 2,267,059 Voight Dec. 23, 1941 

